Blog Archives
Arcade Anthems
Last Thursday night Antonia and I were watching the video for Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.” Antonia pointed out that it was one of the first earnest video game songs she could recall — as most songs about arcade attractions are parody’s or novelty songs; campy cantos to clanging coins. So, we Googled “video game [...]
Sun Ra Centenary
This year we celebrate the 100th birthday of the cosmic reign of the avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra whose official birthday is celebrated on May 22. For those who know the man’s music, there is no need for an introduction here. For neophytes, here is a sampling of the story from the Sun Ra Arkestra’s [...]
London Calling at 35
The Clash is one of my favorite bands. Sometimes they are my favorite band — it goes back and forth. If you love the band or — at this late date — if you are new to their music, this series of short docs is a great introduction and a remembrance of one of the [...]
Bonham’s Birthday
I usually don’t post new posts here on Sundays as it seems most people want to read INSOMNIA during the work week. That said, I wanted to share a fun bit of news from yesterday when we celebrated what would have been legendary rock drummer John Bonham’s 66th birthday. Here is a great little BBC [...]
Remembering Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones was a proud son of Pontiac, Michigan and one of my favorite jazz drummers of all time. Jones’ pioneering polyrhythmic style paired with his hard-hitting, aggressive playing made him one of the most recognizable and innovative drummers of the post-bop era. Here’s a word about this documentary which tells the story of the [...]
Happy Birthday Magical Mystery Tour
This year we celebrate the 45th birthday of the U.S. release of The Beatles’ psychedelic, experimental film, Magical Mystery Tour. The band’s third movie, Tour was released in theaters in America, but it was actually a made-for-television project when it debuted on sets across Britain on Boxing Day, December 26, 1967. The best Beatles flicks [...]
A Spring Clean for the May Queen
In a Tennessee hotel, there is no beer in sight. But there are plenty of kayaks and barbershops and everybody has short hair. It’s springtime, May, and the Queen has declared world peace. First, we’ll steal a Bronco. Next, we’ll steal the fire. Stay Awake! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel where I archive all of the [...]
10 Years of Insomnia
This month, Joe Nolan’s Insomnia is celebrating an important anniversary. In May of 2004, I opened up a Blogger account and started writing this illuminated scroll. Blogging was just becoming mainstream at that time and everybody was doing it. I didn’t really have a subject in mind for Insomnia, I just wanted to share thoughts [...]
Lou Reed’s New York at 25
“Romeo Rodriguez squares his shoulders, curses Jesus runs a comb through his black ponytail.” That’s one of my favorite lines in a Lou Reed song. It’s from “Romeo had Juliette,” the opening track on Reed’s fifteenth solo album, New York. While Reed was always preoccupied with and identified with the city, the New York album [...]
1989: The Year Grunge Gelled
As we continue to remember Kurt Cobain 20 years after his suicide, let’s take this opportunity to look back even further to the beginnings of what was to become “grunge.” While bands like Green River, Melvins and Mudhoney all had music released by 1988, their mixing of punk and metal mostly set the scene for [...]
